Bad Romance
by Blackrose715378
Summary: John Dread finds love.
1. Chapter 1

If he had known he would meet his future in N-Tek's prison he would have allowed himself to be captured long ago. He had known for some time what it was like to be on the outside living like a king. It had been decades since he had felt love for another human being. One could not control when or how they met their destiny- it just happened.

The woman in the cell next to him had seemed quiet and subdued when he had first arrived at N-Tek. He might have overlooked her existence if he had been another man- luckily he was not. He had only caught a glimpse of her as he was being put into the cell. With the way her long brown hair hung down over her face, he could not at first see her, but as she looked up to take note of the new prisoner, her gray eyes met his and he knew he was done for.

For the first time since one of his plans had gone wrong, he spent the entire next day contemplating not his short comings, but how best to start up a conversation with the woman on the other side of the wall. In his mind, he had gone through all the conversation starters from "May I ask how someone of your caliber has ended up in a place like this?" to what type of wine she preferred for this season, but all of it sounded horrendously casual. How do you first talk to a woman you had known right away you wanted to spend your life with?

Then, fate knocked in the form of Beethoven's fifth symphony. As he sat in his cell contemplating love, the universe, and how to better his situation, he heard light tapping noises coming from next door. Listening to the rhythms intently, he realized the woman was playing one of the best pieces of music ever written. Without a keyboard, she must have just been playing from memory using the wall as her instrument, but he could hear the music nonetheless. He closed his eyes and listened as she threw in some thrilling adaptations of her own- he knew the song so well he could hear the notes playing in his head despite the medium.

When she had finished, he moved towards the front of his cell and she was soon as close to his side as was possible in such conditions. Without even thinking about it, he removed his sunglasses and they stared into each other's eyes. With all the gravity it is possible to speak with, he told her "I love you."

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As the days turned into months, they came to realize they were meant for each other. Many nights they would not sleep- just talk for hours on end, refusing to end contact with each other. Often they would stand for so long that after a while they would each lie on either side of the wall to continue the conversation- each so exhausted, but not willing to drift into unconsciousness where they would be deprived of the other's company.

After five months, he had voiced his desire to marry her one day, and she accepted. He had no ring and knew of no set time where the two of them would both be out in the world once more, but it was as good of a prisoner's proposal as he could make. They did not attempt to plan for the future- they were not as naïve as that- to plan a life that at the moment they had no control over- but they talked about the past. They discussed the failed plans, the shattered dreams, and decided what could have made them work. He found the weak points in her actions, and she in his. They were made for each other, and he knew that when they would work together they would be unstoppable.

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It had been nine months on the day that Jefferson Smith finally came to visit. Dread had left associates with orders before he had gone out on his last attempt to obtain the max probes by holding Josh McGrath's irritating friend hostage. If he were to be captured, they were to lie low until everything had settled, and then when N-Tek least expected it, they were to break him out.

"I doubt Psycho's been lying low in all reality, but I find it reasonably likely they will enact the plan soon."

She nodded thoughtfully- the two were at the front of their cells discussing his escape plan. "From what you have told me, I'm still a little worried…"

"Oh?" Dread was more intrigued than worried. He, of course had already analyzed every possible angle from his point of view, but was fascinated to hear the short-comings from her vantage point. With her insights, he felt he could always be ready for anything N-Tek, or the rest of the world for that matter, threw at him. She was absolutely brilliant.

"From what you've told me, it seems the two would fight for dominance…Dr. Klemo does not seem a man to let anything deter him…do you think he might let personal vengeance get in the way of your plan?"

After contemplating for a moment, Dread was about to answer when the prison's lift started up. They exchanged a hurried glance, knowing who would be on the lift and exactly what level it would stop at. He reached through the bars and quickly squeezed her hand. As the top of Jefferson Smith's bald head began to emerge over the horizon, Dread hurried to the back of his cell and seated himself on the bench, focusing intently on his hands. By the time Jefferson stepped off the lift and came to stand in front of the cell, John Dread appeared to be completely lost in his own world.

Pretending to just notice the N-Tek CEO's presence, he looked up in a nonchalant manner. "Jefferson Smith, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Listening to his own voice, he knew it sounded wrong- too up-beat, to optimistic…he had forgotten what it was like to be in love.

"Just making sure you're…enjoying your time with us." The man in the cell was glad he was wearing his glasses so Smith couldn't see his eyes roll. The CEO had apparently picked up the habit of making ridiculous wisecracks from his son. The most ironic part of it was that of course the humor always came when it was least deserved- right before Dread had sprung his trap.

"Time is one of the few things I possess now…thanks to you and Mr. Steel," he had to struggle not to laugh while saying this- it was so difficult to play the part of a bitter criminal when you knew you were on the verge of escaping. Knowing his friend next door would be listening to this exchange, he couldn't help adding "Admit it…the world is a duller place without me." Because he was listening for it, his ears detected a stifled laugh from the next cell- he knew Jefferson had missed it. The man had never been one for detail.

Smith glared. "Hardly. And I'm going to ensure the world is never bothered by you again. That's why I'm moving you to a new facility at first light tomorrow."

As the man turned and walked away, Dread grinned. All hail the knights in shining armor…who always tipped their hand long before the cards were played. Turning his back to the overly-confident man descending on the lift, he used the device he had long ago concealed in a false tooth to signal his faithful employee. Psycho had put the plan into action- teaming up with the esteemed Dr. Klemo in front of Team Steel to make N-Tek nervous and move Dread to a "more secure" location. In all honesty, the two had been working together for some time at that point. Finishing the transmission, he basked in the glory of his own magnificent plan.

"So it's tomorrow then," the soft voice came from next door.

A momentary pang of panic pierced his moment of jubilation. "Yes," he answered softly. "It's tomorrow."

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They passed the night talking as usual, but these hours were strained. There was so much they each wanted to say, and so much they dared not to. His salvation was at hand, but at what cost? They went over the plan again- exactly how he would re-enter N-Tek, how she would know it was time, what signals to look for. He would get her out. They would be together.

And then finally it was morning. Team Steel came to transfer him to a new prison- as had been planned- and he knew during this transfer he would be freed. Then he'd be back…to 'liberate' N-Tek. Seeing the lift that began moving to bring the guards up to him, he leaned as close to the bars as he could without getting himself electrocuted. His confidante had come as far up as she possibly could as well- he had told her enough of his plan so that she also knew what was coming.

As she looked over to him, he met her gaze and held it. "I'll be back for you."

She nodded, smiling sadly. "Good luck, John."

He opened his mouth to tell her it was the truth. He was not one to make false promises. He *would* come back and he *would* free her and they *would* be together. At that moment, however, the lift began to reach their level and Dread heard the detestable voice of Max Steel.

_Wonderful timing_, he thought sourly. With a final loving glance thrown towards the woman in the cell next to his, he retreated back to his cell's bench and prepared to play his part. He needed to focus, and comforted himself in knowing that he would see her again.

He turned his back to the bars and held his hands behind him- the good prisoner act had been her suggestion.

"All right Dread, moving day."

Max Steel's overly-confident voice made him want to grind his teeth. The boy had no idea the gravity of the situation.

Dread turned, pretending not to have known exactly who would be sent for him. "Max Steel. Always a pleasure."

Facing the bars once more, Dread was greeted with the sight of not one but two N-Tek agents. His love had been right again- she had indeed seen this coming. He had no knowledge of the second person though. A woman, she looked rather small in stature. By the way the two moved together, he processed they must be partners, and immediately decided the woman must be a force to be reckoned with if she was a partner of Max Steel at her size and age. She also looked much more intelligent than the rookie agent…not that such a thing was particularly difficult, but he would not underestimate her.

"This must be a new member of the illustrious Team Steel. How do you do, my dear?" He knew his overly suave demeanor would both amuse his partner in life and crime as well as disarm the female agent. Not that she would fall for the act, oh no, but she would be more likely to underestimate him with her dismissal.

He began to introduce himself. "I am-"

The woman leaned closer to the bars "John Dread, scum of the earth."

He heard his beloved let out a low hiss.

Dread laughed at this. Even though Steel's hearing was supernaturally enhanced, he would just take the sound for the average cursing and spitting that went on any time he entered the prison- seeing as he had put most of the inhabitants into their cells himself.

"You flatter to me."

He waited patiently as Steel tapped in a 5 digit code- he wondered how long it had taken the boy to memorize that with his extraordinarily limited brain power. He also considered telling him that he was holding that gun wrong. The bars of the cell disappeared and he held his hands out in front of him.

"You know the drill," Steel sniped, speaking to him as if he were a run of the mill low level criminal. The boy would learn.

Dread studied the design of the handcuffs that Steel's partner clamped around his wrists. "But I didn't get you anything," he commented, now on the verge of breaking into hysterical laughter. It was all too funny- these two children acting so condescending and sure of themselves as he was on the brink of enacting his best plan ever.

The two looked at him warily as they backed up to allow him out of the cell- _finally they seem to be getting it_, he mused. Once he had followed them onto the lift, he turned, seemingly to look at the cell he had so long occupied. Neither of the agents saw his lips moved as he professed his love one last time.

As the three descended, Steel and the girl seemed uneasy. Dread decided he would help the mood by whistling his new favorite tune- Beethoven's Fifth with some adaptations. He could feel the relief in the air as they reached the ground floor where a transport awaited them. As he stepped off the platform into the waiting vehicle, a chair turned toward him, inviting him to sit. He guessed it reacted to the electromagnetic signal of the handcuffs. Either that or Dr. Martinez was watching on a monitor somewhere. As he sat down, the seat belt automatically closed over his shoulders, and he struggled to keep his head. All he wanted to do was return to the woman upstairs.

The smirking face of Max Steel suddenly obscured his view. "Comfy?"

The man now strapped to the seat struggled to maintain his further bravado. "Snug as a bug." As the door closed, he turned to study the inside of the vehicle instead. "I suppose a magazine and a danish are out of the question," he added casually.

As Max Steel and his partner got in and spoke with Dr. Martinez (he was there via television screen after all, Dread noted) the prisoner resisted the urge to look back towards the prison. He knew he would not be able to see her even if he did, but the craving was still there.

The transport raced down the tunnel as Max and the woman (who Dread now knew was named Kat) discussed some ridiculous sporting event they would be attending the coming week. The man in the back would have been somewhat insulted under normal conditions- they were so sure that the threat in him was neutralized they were discussing names and locations right in front of him. Instead he was listening and looking for the signs he knew would soon come.

He did not have to wait long, or even pay close attention, as the sign of his impending escape came in the form of an explosion that shook the tunnel and water rushing onto the tracks.

The agent named Kat yelled. "Steel!"

_Yes_, Dread mused, _I suppose the situation would be a little frightening for someone who does not have an escape plan_. Sitting forward in his seat, he felt exhilarated. Finally. "Right on time."

As the vehicle was lifted by the water and slammed against the tunnel, the prisoner prepared to hold his breath. His love had advised him to prepare his body to use less oxygen in the minutes before just in case the sometimes bumbling Psycho took too long getting to him. She had been highly concerned about this part of the plan.

The craft came to a stop along the bottom of the tunnel and shortly after the front window was smashed in by what could only be a bionic arm. He sat patiently holding his breath as Steel dove for Psycho only to be diverted and tossed aside. Watching out the window, he saw Klemo move to take on Max. It seemed Mr. Steel would be occupied for some time. Meanwhile Psycho had entered the vehicle, provided him with an air mask and undid his bonds in what was only about 30 seconds by his count. The cyborg might deserve a raise after all. Making a mental note to reward his accomplices, he waved his fingers at Kat, who was struggling to keep enough air in her lungs, and swam towards freedom.


	2. Chapter 2

Once all three were aboard the submarine, John Dread immediately took a seat at the helm, watching the sonar to make sure they weren't being followed by anything…or anyone. He was well aware that Max Steel did not need a watercraft to catch up to them in the lumbering machine they were using. He focused on the gauges, the map of the ocean floor, the uncomfortable wetness of the cheap prison uniform he had been given- anything to take his mind off of the beautiful brilliant woman still sitting in her concrete cell. Now that he was out, to think of such a perfect human being suffering such indignity was driving him mad.

After ten minutes had passed, he heard someone clear their throat behind him. Snapping back to the situation at hand, he spun around in his chair. How unthankful he had been. Apologetically, he nodded his head in approval of the cyborg. "Psycho, my friend. Excellent work."

"Good to see you again Mr. Dread."

The man in the chair was pleased. It seemed the cyborg had picked up some manners while he had been gone. That would certainly make dealings with him much easier.

"If the family reunion is over," Klemo spat in a voice that sounded like pure acid, "I held up my end of the bargain, now I want Jefferson Smith and the rest of N-Tek dessstroyed."

Dread studied him as he spoke, noting the weak places in the snake-man's anatomy. He would bet the man's head was not as flexible as the rest of the body. The eyes would probably be the best choice were Dread inclined to remove him from the plan. He stifled a smile as Psycho turned to the scientist and mocked "Isss that ssssso?"

The cyborg continued, pointing a hand towards him. "Look, belly crawler, you'll follow orders, not give them."

"I'm not in the habit of taking ordersss from anyone!"

Dread observed the exchange with some slight interest- his co-conspirator had been right about the dynamic between the two. Based on their interactions, they must have been butting heads for some time now. He decided to interrupt before things got out of hand.

"The plan," he started in a tone that told the two they would do best to pay attention to the man in charge, "is already in motion. In moments, Jefferson Smith will take my bait. And when he does...we'll make our move."

Psycho nodded and led the way to the small room in the back of the sub that had been set up to look like the inside of the airplane. It took only 30 seconds to record the provocative message that would be sent to N-Tek. When the two prisoners had discussed the plan the night before, Dread had been unsure Smith would believe the transmission. Surely they would see through it. She knew, however, they would take the bait. It was N-Tek, after all.

They only had to wait a few minutes after sending the message until radar picked up a jet leaving the complex. "That would be our Team Steel."

The sub already in position, it did not take long for the three to get to N-Tek's dive chamber- the well-known weak point in the base's security. It was a shame Jefferson Smith was not smart enough to do something about it until it was too late. _Ah well,_ Dread mused. _His loss, my gain. I'm coming my love. _

As they emerged from the water and discarded their dive masks, Dread was not surprised to be greeted by Smith and Dr. Martinez- each holding a gun. With one glance at Martinez, it was obvious he would not be a problem. The boy was scared out of his mind. Hopefully he would not be hurt in the coming clash- Dread would be honored to have him under his employ, and his battle was with Smith, not the scientist.

"Don't you boys know it's illegal to trespass?" Apparently Smith was not done with his smarmy comments.

"Jeffersssson Sssssmith." The hate emanating from the snake man was impressive, and Dread looked on with some interest. It seemed he would not have to go after Smith himself.

"Dr. Klemo, I presume." Dread rolled his eyes.

"Klemo was weak. I am not." The man in sunglasses noted what he assumed Smith had not- one of Klemo's snakes slithering towards the two men with guns.

"I love disgruntled employees," he commented grandly, trying to draw attention off what he was certain would be a rather interesting surprise. He had never seen Klemo's venom work firsthand.

The next few minutes went by in a blur. As the snake dove for its intended target- the boy, it turned out, not Jefferson Smith after all, Dr. Martinez stumbled back, distracting Smith. Klemo was in the air as the two avoided the snake, breaking the CEO's weapon in half as he landed. The scuffle was over quickly and the only thing Dread had to do was stop Klemo from prematurely dispatching Smith.

"Not yet. I want to see the look on his face when N-Tek crumbles."

He barely stopped the snake-man in time- unfortunately his mind was again somewhere else. He didn't care whatsoever about keeping the man alive except for the fact that he would likely need him to access the jail cells. It took all of his willpower not to abandon the plan altogether and run to the prison. He wanted her to see this- his success, finally.

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Smith and Martinez were both restrained and seated in the control room. Dread was entertained by the symmetry of it all- the two were wearing the exact handcuffs that had been put on his wrists only 2 hours ago. Pretending to supervise Klemo and Psycho's work on the transphasik generator, the man tapped into the security feed to access the prison cameras. She was still there, of course, sitting still and listening intently. She must have felt something was happening- her intuition had always been uncanny. Catching himself falling into his thoughts, he snapped out of it and spun the chair to his prisoners. She had advised against him sharing his plan with the captives, had told him it was a bad idea, but as usual his one problem was his ego. He just had to gloat.

"As we speak, leaders from around the globe are gathered for the international peace conference in Geneva. A few adjustments to your transphasik generator and it could become-"

"A weapon of unspeakable power," finished Dr. Martinez. Dread contemplated chastising the boy for speaking out of turn but decided against it. He was too busy enjoying the stunned look on Smith's face. He was not surprised the man was not aware of the capabilities of his own generator.

He continued. "A properly aimed blast bounced off an N-Tek satellite should level Geneva. And the beauty of it all is-"

"N-Tek would be given the blame for the attack." This time the interrupter was Jefferson Smith, but Dread did not mind.

"Great minds think alike," he grinned. He turned back to the console as a blinking light caught his attention. Changing the camera view from the woman in the cell to the inside of his jet, he observed N-Tek's wonder boy creeping around in the aircraft. "Hello, Mr. Steel," he called, now in an absolutely shining mood. Any minute now he would be reunited with her. And they would have everything. Once Steel was dead no one would be able to hunt them down- they would be safe to live their life together in bliss.

Seeing on the monitor that the agent was about to leave the plane, he decided to greet him. "Max, we're having a party to celebrate my latest act of international terrorism. Pity you won't be alive to see it." He laughed as he ended the transmission- he had kept the agent on the plane just long enough so that he wouldn't be able to avoid the blast when the bomb went off.

Watching the explosion of light on the thermal imaging camera, Dread had to resist the urge to give a shout of joy. That was the end of Steel once and for all- he and his love could live unmolested until the end of their days. As he listened to Smith and Martinez's shouted protests, he allowed himself a casual shrug. "Well, he went out with a bang." He grinned. He could make puns too.

"Dread I'll see you pay for this if it's the last thing I do!" Smith bellowed.

Dread flashed him a winning smile. "Better hurry. That moment is approaching sooner than you think."

Turning back to the console, he watched intently as Klemo began to direct the satellites into position. Nothing could go wrong. Once N-Tek was blamed for attacking the peace conference, the organization would be disbanded and its employees most likely jailed. Their escape would be cleared. Now he just had to supervise the final workings and calculations. Once he was sure that everything was in its correct place then he would go to her. She had made him promise not to leave things to Psycho and Klemo until he was absolutely sure they would not go wrong.

He felt his mind try to drift into thoughts of her, but he stopped himself and forcibly directed his attention to what the snake man was doing. The man knew his way around the N-Tek computers surprisingly well, but then again Dread supposed that came with being an N-Tek scientist for over ten years. He watched as the man prepared the transphasik generator to blast. _This was it_, he thought, _everything's ready. It's time to go. Time to free her._

Looking over the shoulder of Psycho, who was working on stabilizing the currents of the generator, he began to give his final instructions before he left. "The modifications to the regenerator are nearly complete. Make sure the uplink transmitter is properly aligned." All he wanted to do was go to her. He hardly cared about his victory any more. He was sure he wouldn't have much trouble accessing the prison- access codes or not. Despite all this, he forced himself to stay. She had told him to. Any sign that he was putting a woman before his plot would complicate future relations with his business associates. The show must go on. She would be there once it was done.

"Max Steel is history, Geneva will soon be a parking lot, and I'm seconds away from toppling N-Tek. I'm king of the world."

"You know what Dread?"

Dread spun around to face Jefferson Smith- the man had somehow gotten out of his bonds while he had been running the final preparations.

"The only thing bigger than your ego is your mouth."

The man still in his prisoner's uniform was caught off guard as the CEO swung a fist and knocked him back against the console. While his escape was slightly problematic, it was nothing he couldn't handle. He glanced towards Klemo, who he knew would be thrilled to finally have his chance. "Destroy him."

"It'ssss about time!" The man yelled as he flew towards Smith only to be diverted by a throw.

Dread narrowed his eyes. This overweight aging office worker would not get in the way of his plan now. There was too much at stake. "If you want something done right…"

Engaging Smith in combat was more troublesome than he had thought- despite the man's appearance, it seemed he hadn't forgotten his training from his days as a field agent. Klemo joined the battle as Smith got in another good hit before he was knocked backwards onto the stairs.

Feeling like the three had re-established control over the situation, Dread felt a sinking feeling as the door to the room opened to reveal Steel and his partner. _This is not happening. I need to get to her. Before it's too late._

"He never stays dead!" he added to the exclamations of the room's occupants, maddeningly frustrated.

The boy leaped towards him and the two were engaged in combat. _Not good_, Dread thought grimly, trying not to panic. Although he struggled to keep his head, it wasn't long before he, Psycho, and Klemo were losing the battle. As he recovered from getting knocked over by Klemo, Dread struggled to sit up and saw the N-Tek agents gathering around the console. _Definitely not good. _

He watched bitterly as the incorrigible Max Steel hit the self-destruct button for the satellite right before the beam of transphasik energy hit it. Then things started to go haywire. The beam began fragmenting- he knew something had gone wrong. He knew he should run for it- just get out of there and save himself- but he couldn't. He watched, transfixed as the green light bounced off its containment chamber- he knew it would not last long. He felt his blood go cold as time stopped for him. The building would surely be destroyed, and she could not escape. He had to get to her- no matter what the cost.

He turned and began to run as he saw the levels displayed on the console reach critical. He took one step, and then felt a wave of heat collide with his body. He felt himself fly through the air and go through a wall. Lying dazed in rubble, he realized he had been knocked through to the hallway. Feeling for his sunglasses, he realized they were gone. It didn't matter. All that mattered was her. Struggling to his feet, he staggered through the building. Everything was chaos. There was smoke and rubble everywhere, and agents were running for their lives. No one so much as gave him a second look- it seemed that losing the glasses had been an upside.

The security system had been activated- because of this his path to the prison had been cleared. N-Tek didn't want any personnel to get stuck by malfunctioning locking mechanisms in an emergency. Upon entering the area, however, he felt his heart stop. All he could see was ruins. He briefly recalled Martinez feverishly working the controls, yelling that he was trying to divert the blast the best he could. This is how he did it. To the boy, the most expendable part of the complex was clearly the prison, which Dread now realized must have shared a wall with the generator room.

The lift still worked. He started it up and entered the floor and cell number- he knew it well. Like a machine, John Dread boarded it and watched as the floors slowly went by. Each one was worse off than the last. Half of the walls had collapsed on the second floor, at least three quarters on the third. She was on the sixth.

He knew how brilliant she was, he knew how resourceful, he knew there must have been some way she had escaped. She would be ok, he knew, but as he passed the fourth floor he felt something in him begin to die. Arriving at the sixth, he stiffly walked onto the platform and towards her cell. In his once again cold heart, he knew there was no need to hurry. The wall that had separated them was now broken into pieces, the biggest of which had landed on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Her face was now the pale gray color of death and he knew she would never open her beautiful eyes again. He felt his legs give out, and suddenly he was on the floor as well.

As he looked down at his body for the first time since the explosion, he noticed the blood stain spreading through his shirt. Unbuttoning it, he saw the lemon-sized hole in his chest. Now he felt the pain, and was able to appreciate the coldness for what it was. It seemed it was his time as well. Looking down, he saw his beloved's hand outstretched.

Slowly lowering himself down next to her, he took her cold hand in his. Recalling the past nine months, he felt himself begin to drift away. His shirt was no longer blue, but red, and he no longer felt the floor beneath him. Turning his head so that her face, still beautiful in death, would be the last thing he would see, he sighed. "Together at last."


End file.
